Semi Retired Animal Lovers

About this sitter

Hi We are a non-smoking couple in our 50's who have always had our own dog at home up until recently. We own our own apartment in Scarborough on the Redcliffe Peninsula and owned 3 homes previously. We have owned a house through our married life (over 30 years) so we know the responsibilities of a homeowner and how hard most of us work to own and maintain our home. Until petsitting sites started up we had rarely travelled because of our pets. We have had dogs throughout our married life and did not want to put them in a kennel. Now we want to see a bit more of the world but as animal lovers we know how important it is to also be at "home" to be with pets as we too love our house sitters to spend some time with our dog and are happy if they do a mixture of both. We are available to house sit at various times throughout the year and nearly always do a sit over the Christmas break. To stay in a different town or country with pets to care for and be with and see some of the local sights is just paradise. We have done quite a few marvellous house sits already (through another site and we have all 5 star ratings) and have loved every one of them. It is our idea of the perfect vacation, the best of both worlds. My husband works for the Justice Department and has been a government employee for over 30 years plus he was a Justice of the Peace. He is currently on long service leave. I have been a yoga teacher for over 20 years and I run my own business. Prior to that I was a legal secretary for many years. It was a blessing for us in our own home when we did have dogs to be able to go away for local weekends (many of our sitters were for weekends and long weekends) while our own dog/s were safe at home with a sitter. We did not do many sits for a few years as our girl was getting older and we did not like to leave her. We lost our precious 15 year old girl in April 2025. We will not be getting another dog in the near future as we wish to do some longer sits and we hope that our love of animals will be fulfilled by caring for others' pets. FYI please note that we only housesit for indoor cats and we do not do off-leash dog walks or runs.

Why they want to house sit

After we found several wonderful pet sitters through another site it occurred to us that it might be a good way to have a break in a different place, knowing our dogs were well cared for at our own home, do a few touristy things and getting to know different areas but also having the pleasure and joy of a pet or pets at home to spend time with. When we do nearby sits we often spend most of our time at home with the pets as we use this time to get our animal fix.

Their experience

Years of owning dogs (all our married life) plus always owning dogs as a child (although my family actually only had the one dog from when I was 7 to 23 years old). We both have a love for all animals and have taken injured possums, birds, cats and dogs to the vet as well as frequently bringing home stray dogs to keep them safe while we search for their owners. I was a wildlife carer for 6 years, caring for orphaned and injured wildlife. We had our own precious dog - a Scottish Terrier - who was 15 but she passed away in April (broke our hearts).
At this stage we have done several fantastic pet/house sits overseas and in Australia. We enjoyed ourselves so much that we are on the lookout for more!!! On the sits we have had large and small dogs, large and small cats, goldfish and chickens! It was brilliant being in a home rather than a hotel and having furry creatures to walk, groom, cuddle and care for while we saw some of the local sights - a perfect holiday and a home away from home. Although we have only owned dogs we love all creatures great and small. Many of our friends and family members have cats which we always give lots of attention to (if they deign to allow such a thing!). I am also a Pawshake and Mad Paws (Apps) sitter and I visit both dogs and cats locally and feed them, play with them and walk them. I can show you a screenshot of my reviews if you wish. We also have screenshots of 10 reviews from another petsitting website.

What can they bring to the assignment

A deep love of animals and care for their well being. We treat any pets we sit for as our own. We take the responsibility of caring for others' pets extremely seriously. Also we appreciate the trust in handing over their home to us and always make sure the home is in excellent condition for the owners' return. We stay in touch regularly, often daily (but we won't do that if the owner does not want that) because we know what it is like to be thinking about a beloved pet left at home.